


Delusions of Grandeur

by orphan_account



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Gen, graphic depictions of cannibalism, graphic depictions of murder, hannibal's eating dudes, will's murdering ladies (or so he thinks)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-18
Updated: 2013-06-18
Packaged: 2017-12-15 08:58:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/847680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will Graham's hallucinations are getting more vivid, and he spends too much time watching himself commit the crimes he's trying to solve. Hannibal knows what lies beneath Will's front, and recollects on his own crimes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Delusions of Grandeur

Will Graham looks down and sees his shaking hands holding a knife before he's fully aware of what he's doing. There is a woman gagged and bound on the ground in front of him, a present he will soon open. She's crying through shut eyes, not wanting to see him, not wanting to see what will happen to her. 

-he's forcing her legs open, positioning himself above her and her knees lock tight around him, trying to force him out. But he's just getting started, really, and he knows what she doesn't, and that is that nothing will save her now. He plunges the knife deep in her belly, first. It feels soft under his touch as it slides in. She cries out but barely makes a sound through the gag, her body doubling over on impact. Will grins, draws his hand back and slams it down into her stomach again. He can feel the blood start to pool out onto his hands, warm and getting sticky as it hits the air. He draws back, jabs her again, but this time it's anywhere, it's everywhere. He's slamming it into her head, in her neck, between her ribs, again, and again with all the force he can muster. He's not aware of how many times, he's only aware of the blade as it dips into her flesh, tearing her open, as her muffled sobs become silent and suddenly he knows, he knows she's gone. His hands still for only a moment as he surveys the wreckage beneath him. He cocks his head to the side, leans forward and opens her eyes. Dense blue and empty. A smile tears at his lips, which he tries to fervently lick away.

He wants to make a show for whoever finds her. He pulls up her blouse to expose her lower half, closes her legs neatly and slashes once, expertly, across her navel. Her intestines bloom and drip out of her like they were meant to be external. His breathing has slowed now, and he's getting up, wiping the blood off the blade with his shirt, backing away from her body.

-and then Will is in Hannial Lecter's office. He's shaking, he can feel his hair clinging to his forehead and the sheen of sweat that covers his entire body. He groans once, placing his head into his jittery hands.

“Will? Will?” Hannibal says his name curtly. “Will, it is 7:30 in the evening and you are in Baltimore, Maryland. Did you lose time again?” 

Will clears his throat, once, harshly. “I...I guess. Was I..was I at a crime scene earlier?”

“If you were, you did not mention it to me,” Hannibal replies. It is a smooth and purposeful lie. Hannibal knows Will Graham was at another crime scene earlier in the day. He knows exactly which crime scene, he knows exactly the victim and how she was murdered. He knows it was sloppy and frenzied, a crime whose origins were emotional, and it leaves a distinct distaste in his mouth. 

“Are you sure?” Will is sliding his hands over his face, shaking his head as though he could shake away his thoughts. “Jack...I should call Jack, I should ask.”

“Why are you so concerned with whether or not you were at a crime scene? Why did you lose time again, Will? What triggered this behavior?” Will is staring down at his hands, not wanting to raise his head to meet Hannibal's intent gaze. 

He sighs loudly and says, quietly, “I saw myself...I saw myself murder a girl. I carved her up like a...like _an animal_ , I felt her life give out under my hands.”

“You think you are capable of having done this?”

“No, no, that's not it – I'm just. I need to call Jack.” Hannibal watches Will, slouching, his body exhausted as though he had actually committed the crime. His lips tighten and he thinks about convincing Will that he wasn't at a crime scene today, thinks about convincing Will to not call and bother Jack. He knows Will is broken at this moment, vulnerable. He knows Will will listen to him, he knows Will will not doubt what he has to say. But, he knows that Will will find out, eventually, that he was profiling with Jack today. And he knows that when Will finds out, Will will no longer trust him. Hannibal thinks all of this through before Will has finished moving to retrieve his cell phone from his pocket, his brain a machine working with the utmost efficiency. 

“Jack? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Really. I know it's kind of late -” Will sighs, and Hannibal knows Jack is reprimanding him and demanding to know why he's calling, demanding to know that Will has not yet been pushed over the edge. “Jack. _Jack_. Listen. I just wanted to know, were we at a crime scene earlier?” Will's face visibly relaxes, his taunt mouth easing, his brows unfurling – all the little things bodies do without your awareness. The little signs that someone as observant as Hannibal were adept at reading and carefully taking note of. “Okay, okay, that's what I thought. No, I'm fine, really. Jack? I'm hanging up now.” Will slides his phone back into his pocket and turns his gaze to Hannibal. “Jack said we were, the same girl, the same thing I had imagined. I don't know why I couldn't remember that.” Will smiles uneasily, relieved.

“Just as I thought,” Hannibal says. “You got too far in. Your brain did not know how to process the gruesomeness of this crime, and it responded with a defense mechanism that allowed you to remove yourself from the situation until you were capable of dealing with what you had witnessed.” Will furrows his brows again, thinking over Hannibal's words. 

“But...I've seen worse. The totem pole? The human fertilizers. Why would this, how could this cause such a great impact on me? Why should this one be any different?” 

“What you have seen has been too much for you, Will. Every time. You have been able to cope with this by pushing it to the back of your mind, and building a dam against it. Each new crime scene is causing a bigger build up in your head. Each time you expose yourself to these events, you add more pressure on the dam. This time, the dam broke.” Will is thinking, mulling over this explaination. Hannibal can almost feel Will recceding into his own mind by looking into his eyes. As Hannibal watches, Will's eyes slowly close, and remain closed for too long. How disrespectful.

“Will? _Will_ ,” Hannibal says sharply. Will's eyes snap open and for a minute he looks frightened. Hannibal has a passing thought that, like most people, fear becomes Will in a particuarly delectable way. 

“Oh! I'm sorry. I should go. I can't even stay awake during my own session. That was very rude of me,” Will says as he begins collecting his things and straightening himself out.

“No worries,” Hannibal replies. Will stands and walks toward the door.

“Goodnight, Dr. Lecter,” Hannibal hears just before the door to his office shuts.

And then Hannibal is thinking. Hannibal is thinking of how Will looked during his hallucination, the flared nostrils and wide grin of man who, on some level, was enjoying his thoughts. Hannibal has seen this look before. He knows what it signifies. And then, Hannibal is remembering.

Hannibal is much younger, inexperienced, he's still learning. But for all that, Hannibal is still hungry, and he knows what he'll have for dinner tonight. It isn't the first time, and he knows it will not be the last, but it is just as important as the first was and as the last will be. There's a man tied to a chair, head nodding off to the side and resting on his shoulder. Hannibal has drugged him, lightly, not for anesthesia but for easier transport and restraint. There's a scalpel in his pocket that he will use later, but it's time is not now. He places his nose to the man's temple and sniffs all the way down his cheek into his neck. He can almost taste the flesh in the scent and for a tiny moment it incapacitates him. And then he is all teeth, biting down hard into the man's neck. He grips the flesh between his teeth, shakes his head and tears off a hunk. It's sweet, the perfect texture, and as he chews he cherishes it. He's exposed the arteries now and the sprays of blood as the man's terrified heart beats faster and faster hits Hannibal in the face until he opens his mouth wider and catches it. 

The man is awake now, murmurs turning to sounds of alarm, but Hannibal almost does not notice. He delicately licks the blood off his lips and from around his mouth. He moves back and glances once into the man's eyes. Like a terrified doe, he thinks, and it makes him smile a smile that the man in front of him sees as a snarl. He draws himself in closer and sinks his teeth into the delicate flesh of the man's face. 

And then, Hannial isn't remembering anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Hannibal fic, and my own personal test to myself. Can I characterize Will and Hannibal accurately? Can I convey violent imagery? I hope you enjoyed. More is coming.


End file.
